


i'm holding on tight to you

by heart_inmyhand



Series: holding on tight to you [2]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Found Family, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, anne feels like a bad mum, cathy is sorry, they talk about the Thomas Seymour thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heart_inmyhand/pseuds/heart_inmyhand
Summary: ** THIS IS THE REWRITTEN VERSION OF YOU LIED **friends don't lie - that's what Anne Boleyn lives by now, that is until the past comes back to bite her.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn & Catherine Parr, Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I of England & Catherine Parr
Series: holding on tight to you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806778
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	1. tell me it's not true

**Author's Note:**

> hi! so this is the rewritten version of You Lied! i'm changing most things but the first chapter, i'm just expanding and editing it a bit! enjoy!

Quiet was a rare but welcome occurrence in the queens' house, so when the house seemed still one Sunday morning nobody thought much of it. The day beforehand had been a stressful one- with two shows, an interview, and then an incident at the stage door. 

  
  


_ They had nearly made it to the end of the line when Cathy went up to sign a little girls program, but as soon as she started talking to the child a man- who Cathy assumed to be the girl’s father- grabbed the child and pulled her away. He shot Cathy a smirk before loudly exclaiming, _

_ “We don't want someone like her to sign it sweetheart. She’s a bad person who doesn’t deserve the praise she gets. She should have been beheaded like the king wanted her to be!” _

_ All five of the other queens were at Cathy’s side immediately, while Aragon held her Goddaughter, Anne yelled at the man, effectively knocking him down a few pegs. The small girl immediately started apologizing for her stepbrother. Cathy gave a shaky smile to the girl, she signed her program, “You are not responsible for his actions, no need to apologize” The girl smiled and squeaked out a small thank you before fallowing her stepbrother out. After apologizing to the other fans still waiting the queens went home.  _

  
  


So the next morning four out of six queens were sat watching a show on the tv, while the cousins were up in Kitty’s room doing God knows what. Although the two were quiet for once, nobody was concerned or at least no one voiced it, they had learned it was better to let the two have their stupid ideas and help clean up the mess after the fact than to try to intervene.

When the door to Katherine’s room was slammed shut and the sounds of two sets of feet were heard they braced themselves. But instead of the usual pestering and giggling, there was silence. One look at Anne’s face was all it took to tell all the queens that something was off. The green queen stood firmly, visible tear tracks streaming down her face as she glared at Catherine Parr. 

Cathy took a breath, bracing herself. She knew this was coming, it was inevitable that Anne would find out someday, that didn’t mean she was any more prepared for it. One glance to her left confirmed that Catherine had realized what was about to happen and immediately went to say something to protect her goddaughter but a single look from Cathy told the older woman that she didn’t need to say a word. 

Anne walked over to Cathy, suddenly seeming very timid, pulling in on herself, had the situation not been so tense Cathy may have pointed out that the girl resembled a turtle retreating into its shell. Cathy expected Anne to yell, to make a huge deal out of it and Cathy wouldn’t have blamed her. She knew it was bad, that what she did was wrong, that for all the praise she is given she could never be a good person because she could never change what she did.

Yet Anne didn’t look angry, no this was so much worse, the girl’s eyes held a look of hurt, betrayal, sadness,  **_disappointment._ ** That made Cathy squirm, she had prepared herself for the woman to be angry not this, anything but this.

“You lied, Cath.”

Anne sounded so lost, so  **_broken_ ** and Cathy’s heart just shattered. She wanted to say something, anything to make her friend feel better, to make the pain go away but there was nothing she could do. She had the chance when it happened; when she first noticed the red flags in his behaviour, but she didn’t do anything.

“You said she was happy, that she was loved and safe. And she wasn’t! You lied!”

All the queens knew that Anne led with her heart, but when her heart broke so did the mask she used to hide how she felt, one she always wore. She stood in front of Cathy, tears streaming down her face and eyes that held so much emotion, locked with Cathy’s own. Soon the confusion, grief, and pain subsided leaving only anger. 

The temper and sharp tongue everyone had heard of the Boleyn girl possessing was something the queens had never witnessed first hand. That seemed to be because they had never seen the girl truly angry.

“I believed you! I stood up for you! I defended you! And you lied! You let your bastard of a husband make a child-  **my child** -feel uncomfortable in her own home! You let him use her and didn’t do a thing! You know they say that you could have even helped him!”

Anne was livid, her face was red and her breaths were taken in short, sharp gasps as she stared at Cathy, fists clenched and body tense. Katherine had moved over to Jane, the older woman holding her close, Aragon watched the exchange, ready to act if Boleyn were to lose her temper. It was Anna who had decided to step in though, seeing as she was the only other person in the room who somewhat knew what had happened.

“Anne why don’t you take a breath and we can talk about this civil-”

“No! I’m done listening! All I’ve ever done is listen, I’ve listened to people dictating **my** life, I’ve listened to people even when I knew they were wrong, I listened when the man I had once been engaged to- **MY** Henry- sat in the jury at my trial, and I **LISTENED** when my **UNCLE** decided I was guilty of horrendous crimes I would never commit! I listened when my own **FAMILY** , my flesh and blood **LIED** when they got their own children **KILLED!** ”

Anne then stumbled backward, collapsing in a fit of sobs, Anna rushed forward holding the girl gently,

“I’ll take Anne to her room and we can all talk about this later because this isn’t just about Catherine and Elizabeth anymore.”

As Anne and Anna walked away the others settled back into finishing their movie. They had a lot to talk about but this wasn’t the time. 


	2. welcome to wonderland

Turns out it wasn't the right time for the next week either. As the number of days since the initial blow up grew, so did the tension between Anne and Cathy. Anne spent most of the time locked in her attic room while Cathy stayed in her own room writing. The two queens spent as little time together as possible, which would prove to be a larger problem in the following days.

While Jane attempted to help both girls Catherine grew more anxious. Cathy was her goddaughter and she had always felt a sense of responsibility for the girl. Anne had been her lady in waiting for years before she had been divorced and she loved the girl to death despite how much she got on Catherine’s nerves. 

While the tension in the house grew, another issue arose; Katherine seemed to be avoiding Cathy at all costs. At first, it seemed to be out of loyalty to her cousin but as time went on her subtle attempts to put space between herself and Cathy, turned to the girl frantically trying to hide behind the closest person to her when Cathy entered the room. 

After nine days of watching her family splinter, Catherine had had enough.

**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


“Cathy, we need to talk.”

Cathy turned around to see María de Salinas and Catherine standing just behind her. Cathy tensed for a moment before noticing their relaxed body language and she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Cathy nodded her head before turning to open her door and lead the two women into her bedroom. Cathy’s cheeks flushed red slightly as she noticed the mess on her floor, the entire room was covered in balled-up scraps of paper that were obviously supposed to be in the overflowing garbage bin that sat in the corner. 

Though Jane was known as being the mum friend for the girls Catherine and Cathy had formed a familial bond very quickly. As such Catherine felt it important that she look after her namesake at all times. 

The three women sat on Cathy’s bed, all lost in thought for a moment before Catherine pulled the sixth queen into a loving embrace. Cathy relaxed slightly, focusing on the soft thumping of her godmother’s heart and the calming smell of her lavender perfume. Soon Maria spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Times were different back then and we were all different people. There was a power imbalance between genders and when people get caught up in emotions they forget to look at the facts.” 

Cathy looked up slightly and Maria almost thought the girl looked a bit like a lost puppy as she tilted her head to the side. Catherine brushed a hand through the girl’s curly hair as she nodded in agreement with her life long best friend. They needed to make it clear that they weren’t mad at her for what happened with Elizabeth all those years ago.

“Anne knows that too, she’s just hurting right now. I think she’s madder at herself than she is at you.”

Cathy nodded her headed, pursing her lips as she mulled over their words in her head. “I loved her, you know? I would have done anything for her and yet I let her into the home of a monster. I let him take advantage of her and I was so blinded by love I didn’t even realize it was happening.”

“Even the smartest of people make mistakes.”

The three women looked up at the doorway to see Anne standing there, the choker she always wore around her neck was gone, leaving the obviously agitated scar in the open for all to see, her hair was thrown into a messy bun, and the bags under her eyes were prominent, but she still held a slight smile on her face and a familiar spark in her eyes; Something that had been missing in the days beforehand. Anne moved forward sitting on the edge of the bed quickly examining Cathy, the girl was curled up in a ball between Catherine and Maria and she looked so small and fragile, Anne smiled as she shook her head.

“You and I were similar, both too smart for our own goods. I know you saw what happened to Kit when people found out what had happened to her and had seen how angry the men around me got when I started to talk back to Henry. I know you very nearly suffered the same fate as us. I also know you never meant for Elizabeth to be put in that position.”

“How do you know that? How do you know that I’m not just a bad person?”

“Because I know you, Cathy."

Cathy nodded as tears welled up in her eyes, she pulled Anne into a hug, repeating different apologies over and over. Anne just held her closer, finally letting the tears fall. The two girls stayed like that for a while, not noticing as Maria and Catherine left the room. Cathy laughed slightly as the two pulled apart. 

“I’m not ready to forgive you fully, I don’t know if I ever will,” Cathy looked down at her lap, picking at her nails as she nodded slightly. Anne takes a breath before she continues. “But I’m ready to start. We’re a family and families fight and then they make up. No matter what.”

Cathy gave Anne a watery smile before they heard a loud voice from the door, “About bloody time isn’t it?” The two girls laughed at Anna’s blunt nature before motioning the rest of the queens and ladies in waiting to enter the room. Aragon quickly grabbed the remote for Cathy’s tv before sitting next to her goddaughter. 

Anne turned to Cathy and laughed for a moment, “Est-ce qu’ils pensent vraiment qu’on va tous rentrer dans ce lit ?” Cathy shook her head and laughed,

“En les connaissant, ils trouveront un moyen.” Both girls laughed as the movie began to play.

**_~~~~~~_ **

Cathy took the bedroom on the ground floor when they all moved in together, knowing her own sleeping habits and ability to think logically even when sleep-deprived would most likely shine through when the other girls were upset. This left Cathy on the night shift, she always made sure to be aware of any signs of distress throughout the night, she was always the first to get to Kit when she needed it, the one to make Jane or Catherine a cup of tea or talk some sense into Anna. Cathy also began to notice patterns in behaviour over the time the queens had lived together, yet the one pattern that may just have been the most disturbing was the one queen Cathy never thought needed comfort, Anne Boleyn. 

It was late Saturday night (or maybe early Sunday morning, Cathy couldn’t tell anymore) when a piercing scream rang through the house, Cathy immediately jumped to her feet and ran up the stairs, fully expecting to find Kit having another nightmare. Yet to her surprise she found everyone standing in the hall, everyone that is, except for Anne. The five women rushed up to the attic bedroom in hopes of helping their friend. 

Anne was still in her bed, clearly still in some form of unconsciousness and scratching fiercely at her neck. The sight of the blood dripping down her cousin’s neck sent Katherine out of the room immediately, mumbling about feeling sick, which sent Anna after the teen. Aragon went to get some towels and a first aid kit while Jane and Cathy spoke to the girl, attempting to wake her up or at the very least lessen her distress. Yet the thrashing and assault on her neck only seemed to get worse so Cathy did the only thing she could think to do; Cathy jumped onto the bed quickly, pinning Anne’s arms down and straddling the girl. She knew it would make Anne uncomfortable when she woke up and Cathy couldn’t stop thinking about Thomas and Elizabeth, but she pushed those thoughts aside.

The door flung open again as Aragon entered the room, the women immediately ran over to the side of the bed attempting to help Jane wake the girl. It took what felt like an eternity but Anne eventually woke with a quiet gasp. Cathy got off the girl quickly moving to hold Anne against her chest, hoping the sound of Cathy’s stable heartbeat would help calm the distraught girl. Cathy held her there as Jane and Catherine cleaned the blood from Anne’s neck, and she held the girl tighter as they applied disinfectant and bandages. 

Soon the storm seemed to have passed as all six queens sat on Anne’s bed, a comfortable silence surrounding them. Cathy sat at the opposite side of the bed to Anne, her head resting on her Godmother’s stomach. A few jokes were made to lighten the mood softly but that was it. The queens cherished these quiet moments together, being able to leave their busy lives at the door and just be together for a few moments. That is until Anne’s phone started buzzing,

“So as much as I love and appreciate this you guys, we have a job to get to”

Anne pushed forward, falling onto her stomach, leaving her stretched across the whole bed. Katherine let out a small giggle at her cousin’s antics, pushing herself off the bed to get ready. The others all followed suit, so half an hour and plenty of complaints later the six queens were piled into the car on the way to the theatre. 

“Anns! Annie! I need new clothes and there’s a big sale at the mall!”

Jane turned around from her spot in the passenger seat and smiled at Katherine’s bouncing around. The girl had really come into herself over the past few months, sometimes she was just as mischievous as Anne but they would take it over the scared little girl she used to be any day. 

“We’ll all go to the mall after our first performance today Kit, how about that?”

Katherine bounced excitedly while she talked with Anne as they pulled into their parking spot. The queens all piled out of the car and began to walk up to the theatre. 

“I call shotgun on the way to the mall”

Anne sprinted ahead, Katherine and Anna not far behind, leaving the three remaining queens giggling at the girls’ sudden bursts of energy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Est-ce qu’ils pensent vraiment qu’on va tous rentrer dans ce lit ? - Do they really think we’re all going to get (fit) into this bed?
> 
> En les connaissant, ils trouveront un moyen - Knowing them, they’ll find a way


	3. do you wanna wonder, if i'd only made it

As the days passed and then blended together, a sense of normalcy returned to the household. Their mornings were chaotic, and quiet evenings were spent together, it seemed as though the queens couldn't be happier. Katherine bounced down the stairs one crisp November morning, a smile on her face as she entered the kitchen. She was greeted by three other queens, Anne and Cathy being the only ones still asleep. Well, it was assumed Cathy was asleep at the time but that’s beside the point. 

“Good morning love. Had a good sleep, it seems?” Jane greeted the youngest queen with a smile while setting a cup of tea in front of the girl. Katherine responded with a warm smile and a nod of her head before turning to have a conversation with Anna. The german greeted her casually before discussing something to do with dogs.

A few moments later a knock is heard at the door and Catherine, being the only one standing goes to open it. After unlocking the door she gently swings it open to reveal two people, a boy and a girl standing there. Their body language easily told Catherine they were anxious and she just couldn’t shake how familiar they felt. Their matching brown hair framed pale faces that Catherine was sure she had seen somewhere before. Catherine slightly raised an eyebrow, prompting them to speak.

The girl took a breath, running her pale hand through her long brown hair, “Hi, er, I’m Mary and this is George and we were looking for someone but this probably was a huge mistake. We’ll go now, sorry for disturbing you ma’am” 

As the two turned to leave Catherine stopped them, “No, please come in. She’ll be up soon and she really misses you, both of you.” Catherine smiled at them and led the pair into the kitchen. After introducing the pair to everyone Jane offered them a cup of tea and they all settled into a quiet conversation. The anxiety that was slowly building up in Catalina’s chest dissipated soon enough as there were two tired voices heard coming from the upstairs hallway.

“I was thinking-”

“That can’t be a good thing”

“Hey!”

Catherine shook her head at the girls as a smile pulled on her lips, “About time you two woke up!” She called up to the two girls, she then added as an afterthought, “Anne I swear if you don’t walk down those stairs like a normal person you won’t be getting any of my fresh cookies later.” Which was promptly followed by Anne jumping down the stairs.

“Lucky for you, I am not a normal pers-” Anne paused as she rounded the corner and saw who was in the kitchen. Anne felt her heart quicken as she tried to register the two people in front of her. “What? How? What?” was all she could get out as the panic started to consume her. Anne barely registered as Cathy put a hand on her shoulder and tried to get her to breathe. All she knew was that her siblings were there, in front of her and breathing.

“Annie I need you to breathe, like seriously, you are holding your breath” 

At this Anne snapped back to reality and let out a shaky breath before holding onto Cathy’s hand tightly. “Can we sit in the living room? maybe?” Everyone nodded before going over to the other room. 

Once everyone was settled George broke the silence that had filtered in, “So, hi! I guess” Kat couldn’t help but laugh at him slightly which made Anne smile at her cousin. She then turned her attention back to her siblings.

“Tu es là ? Tu es vraiment là ?”

“oui, ma petite sœur, nous sommes vraiment là” Mary confirmed with a gentle smile. Anne smiled before moving to the other side of the room and pulling her siblings into a hug. Marry pulled away first, wiping away Anne’s tears as the queen mumbled apologies. George just held onto his sister, as if she would disappear the moment he let go.

Once Anne regained her composure she pulled her siblings over to the couch inhabited by four out of the six queens, “Kitty! Meet your other cousins!” Anne gestured to the two brunettes beside her, “Siblings! Meet our best cousin and best second cousin over there!” she continued pointing out Jane as well. The other occupants of the room smiled and the Boleyn girl’s excitement.

It was then that Anna checked her phone it seemed because she suddenly exclaimed,

“We have to be at the theatre in like thirty minutes!” This sent all the queens rushing around the house in an attempt to get ready for the day. Mary and George simply watched, amused by the chaos.

Soon the large group, including the newcomers were at the theatre for a quick rehearsal before the afternoon show. Mary and George were allowed to sit in the audience to watch. For the first few minutes, the queens just hung out on stage

“I still don’t understand why Anne switches between English and French so often” Katherine said, poking her cousin in the cheek with a smirk on her face.

“Quand je suis stressé je parle français,” Anne paused before adding, “and then I forget English words sometimes”

“English is your first language, isn’t it though?”

Anne just laughed at her cousin before getting up and pulling Katherine to her feet. Soon they started running through the show and Anne couldn’t help but notice her brother flinch whenever the beheadings were alluded to. She gave him a sympathetic smile before continuing what she was doing. Soon they were done with rehearsals and the three siblings skipped off ahead of the group, laughing while making a desperate attempt to make up for too many years of lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, barley edited but whatever


	4. holding on tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short final chapter for this fic! thank you all for reading :)

Anne wasn’t sure if she was awake yet as her mind was so fuzzy but she knew that her neck burned in a way that felt like death over and over again. Anne also knew that it had just been a dream, her siblings didn’t come back, they wouldn’t. 

In her semi-conscious state Anne was unsure if she was crying or not until she felt the hands grasping at her wrists, pulling them away from her neck that had begun to feel sticky.

Upon feeling the hands restraining her, a frantic panic like feeling welled up in Anne’s chest. She began struggling in an attempt to get away from whoever was holding her in place

_ She didn’t do it, she would never. Never George, never. _

“Lâche-moi ! Lâche-moi !” Anne screamed. “Henry s’il vous plaît je suis désolé! Je ne veux pas mourir!”

Anne slowly stopped struggling and choked out “Je ne veux pas mourir...” 

But through the cheering crowd and her brother’s blood came a familiar voice. “It’s just me, Annie. I need you to listen to my voice and I need you to trust me. No one will harm you, I promise.” The calm voice repeated itself, using the same soft tone of voice as always, as the cheering of the crowd and her siblings’ faces slowly faded. Soon Anne broke through the fog and realized who was comforting her

“Cath?” Anne whimpered, eyes still shut and body tense.

“That’s right, Annie.” The familiar voice soothed. “I need you to trust me now sweetheart.”

“Cathy— je ne peux pas - ils vont me tuer” Anne wheezed as her breathing picked back up again.

“Anne! Breathe, I need you to breathe.” Cathy continued slowly “You're safe, I promise Annie. You're in your bedroom and it's just us, the others are downstairs. I'm here and so are the other queens. We are all worried about you, so I need you to trust me, sweetheart. You're alright now Annie, you're safe with us.”

“Je suis désolé, je suis désolé” Anne muttered, shaking her head quickly, still trying to squirm away.

“You’re okay, Annie. You’re home, it will all be alright.”

Slowly, Anne opened her eyes. She was met with a bright light, making her wince as her eyes adjusted. 

Cathy sat there holding her wrists away from her neck and a sad smile on her face, but her presence brought Anne more comfort than she thought she could. 

“There you are sweetheart, you're alright” Cathy hummed, playing with Anne's hair softly.

“chez-soi?” Anne asked slowly, still slightly stuck in her nightmare. If it could be considered such when it started out so well. She had had her siblings back, if even just for a moment.

“Yes Anne, you’re home.”

“It felt so real, I swear they were here” 

Anne shifted into Cathy’s embrace, resting her head on the other woman’s shoulder as a source of comfort.

“I know Annie but it’s okay, we’re here- I’m here. And no matter what I’m holding on tight to you.”


End file.
